‘Money’ is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd from their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. Written by Roger Waters, it opened side two of the original album. Released as a single, it became the band's first hit in the United States, reaching number 10 in Cash Box magazine and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Distinctive elements of the song include its unusual 7-4 time signature, and the tape loop of money-related sound effects (such as a ringing cash register and a jingle of coins). These effects are timed right on the beats, and act as a count-in at the beginning to set the tempo and are heard periodically throughout the song. Roger Waters wrote the central riff on an acoustic guitar, and chose the time signature as it fitted the "bluesy feel" of the song.
Waters wrote the lyrics to demonstrate irony and criticising the power of money and the capitalism system generally. "Money interested me enormously," Waters remarked on the twentieth anniversary of Dark Side. "I remember thinking, 'Well, this is it and I have to decide whether I'm really a socialist or not.' I'm still keen on a general welfare society, but I became a capitalist. You have to accept it. I remember coveting a Bentley like crazy. The only way to get something like that was through rock or the football pools. I very much wanted all that material stuff." In another interview, he said he was "sure that the free market isn't the whole answer ... my hope is that mankind will evolve into a more co-operative and less competitive beast.”
Recording of Pink Floyd's version began on 6 June 1972 at Abbey Road Studios with a new recording of the sound effects. Some effects such as the cash register were taken from existing sound libraries. Engineer Alan Parsons gradually faded out the sound-effect loop before the vocals started. As the song progressed, the band gradually sped up, yet later, between the second verse and the saxophone solo, Parsons briefly raised up the volume of the effects loop, and just by coincidence, it turned out to fit the beat. After this point, the loop is not heard again.
As happens throughout Dark Side of the Moon, random voices come in at the end. Waters drew up flashcards with deep philosophical questions on them, then showed them to people around the studio and taped their answers. The ones they liked made the album. Among the people questioned: a doorman, a roadie, and Paul McCartney. Most contributions were not used, but McCartney's guitarist at the time, Henry McCullough, made the final cut with his answer, "I don't know; I was really drunk at the time."
The song was regularly performed by Pink Floyd and played on most tours since 1972, and has since been performed by David Gilmour and Waters on their respective solo tours. Gilmour re-recorded the song in 1981, while Waters released a re-recording of the song in 2023.
Label – Harvest
Songwriter – Roger Waters
Producers – Pink Floyd
SONG LYRICS
[Intro]*clinking coins, a ringing cash register, tearing paper, a clicking counting machine and other items*
[Verse 1]
Money, get away
Get a good job with more pay, and you're okay
Money, it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
[Chorus]
New car, caviar, four-star daydream
Think I'll buy me a football team
*clinking noises continue*
[Verse 2]
Money, get back
I'm alright, Jack, keep your hands off of my stack
Money, it's a hit
Ah, don't give me that do-goody-good bullshit
[Chorus]
I'm in the hi-fidelity first class travelling set
And I think I need a Learjet
[Saxophone Solo]
[Guitar Solo]
[Verse 3]
Money, it's a crime
Share it fairly, but don't take a slice of my pie
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today
[Chorus]
But if you ask for a rise
It's no surprise that they're giving none away
[Outro: David Gilmour]
Away, away, away
Away, away, away, away
Ooh
Away, ooh
Ooh, ooh
No, no, no
Wooh, wooh-ooh-ooh
No, no, no
Bah, bah, bah
Wah-bah-bah-woo-hoo-wa-hoo
Do-da-wa
Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-da-do
Woo
[Spoken Outro: Overlapping Voices]
"Yeah, (*laughter*) I was in the right
"Yes, absolutely in the right"
"I certainly was in the right"
"Yeah, I was definitely in the right
That geezer was cruising for a bruising"
"Yeah"
"Why does anyone do anything?"
"I don't know, I was really drunk at the time"
"I was just telling him it was in, he could get it in number two. He was asking why it wasn't coming up on fader eleven. After, I was yelling and screaming and telling him why it wasn't coming up on fader eleven. It came to a heavy blow, which sorted the matter out..."